Dwarf,
1st-class gunboat, Bramble-class, 710t,
2-4in/4-12pdr, West Africa Station, taking part in
operations against Duala, Cdr F Strong. Opened
fire on German launch towing a lighter on the
Duala River estuary, shelled by two field guns at
Yoss Point, returned fire and gained hits, but
badly hit on the bridge; one rating died of wounds
(Rn/D/dk)

Dwarf,
1st-class gunboat, Bramble-class, 710t,
2-4in/4-12pdr, at anchor at night. Attacked by
German armed steamer Nachtigal in
Bimbia River, Dwarf fired at point-blank range
but was rammed, as the vessels separated
Nachtigal was in flames and sank. Dwarf badly
holed, but soon repaired and back in service
(Rn/D/dx)

BALBUS,
patrol vessel, Nigerian Government tug, taken into
service 9/14, 3-37mm, taking part in combined
naval and military operation from Duala against
German forces further inland, towing lighter armed
with 6in gun. Force had to retreat later in the
day, Balbus went aground so hard she had to be
abandoned. Note: Dittmar does not list her as
lost, possibly salvaged (Rn/D)

Only the Army Despatch referring to naval operations
is included in part

Gazette No. 29604
- 30 MAY 1916

CAMEROONS CAMPAIGN

ARMY
DESPATCH dated 1st March 1916

(first part involving Naval forces)

War
Office, 31st May, 1916.

The following
Despatch has been received by the Secretary of State
for War from Major-General Sir Charles M. Dobell,
K.C.B., Commanding the Allied Forces in the
Cameroons:-

General
Headquarters, Cameroons, 1st March, 1916.

My Lord,

I have the honour
to forward herewith a summary of the operations
carried out by the Allied force under my command,
covering the period between the capitulation of Duala,
27th September, 1914, and the termination of active
operations.

I have, in this
despatch, endeavoured to maintain a correct
perspective, remembering that our operations in this
theatre of war are incomparable in magnitude to those
taking place elsewhere. For purposes of comparison I
may, however, add that the number of troops of both
nations at my immediate disposal at the commencement
of the campaign amounted to 4,300 West African native
soldiers; on the 21st November, 1915, this number had
been increased to 9,700, including Indian troops. In
these numbers the British and French forces were
approximately equal.

As Your Lordship
is aware, I have kept the proper authorities informed
in some detail as to the proceedings and progress of
the troops under my command. These despatches I have
endeavoured to forward at intervals of about a
fortnight; I do not, therefore, propose to enlarge on
such questions as the organization and preparation of
the force placed at my disposal, nor the naval
measures that were taken in a campaign to which
the adjective "amphibious" may be applied in its
widest sense. It is perhaps sufficient to state I
fully realized, that the conquest of a country which
is some 306,000 square miles in area, or roughly one
and a half times the size of the German Empire,
defended by a well-led and well-trained native force,
plentifully supplied with machine guns, was no light
task.

2. On my passage
from the United Kingdom early in September, 1914, I
learnt at various ports of call that the operations
which had taken place on the Nigerian frontier had not
been as successful as had been anticipated, thus
confirming my opinion that Duala, the capital and
chief port of the Cameroons, must be made my immediate
objective. I entertained no doubts as to the ability
of the Royal Navy to overcome the difficulties
and make a landing at Duala feasible, and my best
hopes were realised when I was informed that H.M.S.
"Challenger" could force a passage through the sunken
wrecks and other obstructions in the Cameroon River,
and reach a point 7,000 yards from the town. This was
made possible owing to the mine sweeping and other
preparatory work which had been carried out by the
Royal Navy and Nigeria Marine, under the direction of
Captain Fuller, R.N., H.M.S. "Cumberland."

On my summons for
the surrender of the Colony being refused, and after
duly notifying the German Commandant of my intention,
I ordered a bombardment of the town to commence early
on 26th September; this in combination with a land
demonstration, made by way of one of the neighbouring
creeks, was sufficient to induce the Commandant, on
27th September, to surrender the towns of Duala and
Bonaberi, with a small strip of land in their
environs. The surrender of Duala secured us a safe and
convenient base for the future absorption of German
territory; further, the capture of stores, supplies,
field guns, and the removal of over 400 German
Europeans was a great loss to the German Field Force,
whilst the seizure of the large amount of shipping and
numerous small craft in the harbour, was an
inestimable advantage to us.

3. My first object
was to consolidate the position already won, and with
this object in view an Allied force was allotted the
task of clearing the country up to and including the
Japoma Bridge, Midland Railway, whilst a British force
commenced to make headway towards Maka on the Northern
Railway line. Reconnaissances by land and water were
carried out with uniformly successful results. I may
remark incidentally that neither the climate nor the
character of the country favoured the offensive,
officers and men were exposed to the most trying
conditions - incessant tropical rains, absence of
roads or even paths, a country covered with the
densest African forest - all contributed to the
difficulties with which the troops were faced. Had it
not been for the existing railways which formed a line
of advance as well as supply, it is difficult to see
how progress could have been made.

The country in the
immediate vicinity of Duala is perhaps typical of the
greater portion of the Cameroons in which my troops
have operated, excepting beyond Northern railhead
tfhere the country becomes open and, on account of its
greater altitude, healthier, but all the coast line,
and for some150 miles inland, one meets the same
monotonous impenetrable African forest fringed, on the
coast line, by an area of mangrove swamp in varying
depth. The zone is well watered by numerous rivers of
which the Wuri, Sanaga and Njong present serious
military obstacles. Once outside this belt conditions
change at once, supplies and live stock are
obtainable, and open grass lands are reached; the one
unusual geographical feature is the Cameroon Mountain,
some 13,000 feet high, which rises abruptly from the
sea, its slopes clothed with valuable plantations, and
on which the hill station of Buea, the former
administrative capital of ttie Protectorate, is
perched.

4. By the first
week in October we had made good the country as far as
Maka and the left bank of the Dibamba creek. The
Japoma railway bridge, 900 yards in length, was broken
in two places, but a fine feat was performed by the
French tirailleurs in forcing this passage under a
galling rifle and machine-gun fire. The Royal Navy
and Royal Marine Light Infantry also
materially contributed to this success.

I now judged that
I could move a force by the Wuri River on Jabassi, so
as to secure Duala from any attack from the
north-east; a mixed Naval and Military force,
supported by armed craft, wias organized and an attack
was delivered on 8th October. It is regrettable that
this operation was not at first successful, difficult
country, novel conditions, and the fact that our
native troops encountered machine-gun fire for the
first time arecontributory causes to failure,
nevertheless it became necessary completely to
reorganize the force and repeat the operation, with
the result that Jabassi was taken on 14th October.
From this place a force was pushed out to Njamtan and
the country around Jabassi was cleared of the enemy.

My next objective
was Edea, on which place I determined an advance
should be made from three directions, two by land and
one by river. Strong forces were moved from Japoma and
by the Njong River to Dehane, thence by a track
towards Edea. The third force proceeded by the Sanaga
River; the navigation of this river is most
difficult, dangerous bars hinder entrance into its
mouth and sand banks obstruct the passage up to Edea.
The feat performed by Commander L. W. Braithwaite,
R.N., in navigating an armed flotilla on the
Sanaga was a remarkable one. Thus the combined
movement, outlined above, was entirely successful and
Edea was occupied on the morning of 26th October. This
result had not been achieved without hard fighting,
particularly on the part of the force operating by the
line of the railway. It was during the preliminary
operations in this undertaking that Lieutenant Child,
Director of Nigeria Marine, Commander Gray,
and Captain Franqueville, of the French Army, lost
their lives through the capsizing of their boat in the
surf at the mouth of the Njong River - valuable lives
whose losses it was difficult to replace.

5. During the
latter half of October the small force under
Lieut.-Colonel Haywood was continuously engaged with
the enemy on the line of the Northern Railway, but had
made such good progress that I was in a position to
arrange for an attack on Victoria, Soppo, and Buea. As
in previous operations I divided my force, part of
which was moved by water to Tiko, part from Susa by
Mpundu on the Mungo River, and the third portion
supplied by the Royal Navy and Royal
Marine Light Infantry moved by sea to Victoria.
The opposition met with cannot be described as
serious, but the country was very trying to troops;
the energy with which our advantage was pushed
appeared to demoralise the Germans, and by the 15th
November we had secured Buea, with Soppo and Victoria.
We inflicted considerable casualties on the enemy
whilst, escaping very lightly ourselves.

With the double
object of striking an effective blow at the enemy and
at the same time relieving the pressure on the
southern frontier of Nigeria I decided to clear the
whole of the Northern Railway of the enemy, and for
this purpose concentrated a force at Mujuka, under
command of Colonel Gorges, on 30th November. This
force gradually fought its way to the North and
reached Nkongsamba (railhead), which was surrendered
to us on 10th December. It is worthy of remark that we
took two airplanes at this place - the first machines
that had ever arrived in West Africa. The advance was
continued to Dschang, which was occupied on 3rd
January, and the fort destroyed; most of the hostile
resistance was met with at the Nkam River, but our
columns rarely remained unmolested and experienced
difficulties in operating in a class of country
totally different to that to which they had by then
become accustomed. I decided, as soon as the fort at
Dschang had been destroyed, that the place should be
evacuated and Nkongsamba, with its outpost at Bare,
should be our most advanced position. It was
unfortunate that we could not continue to hold
Dschang, as our withdrawal gave a false impression to
the natives and emboldened the enemy. However, with
the troops at my disposal I did not feel strong enough
to maintain and supply a post, 55 miles north of
railhead, in a difficult and mountainous country.

French troops on
the line of the Midland Railway up to and including
Edea, which place was partially isolated as one span
of the first of the two bridges had been destroyed. A
detachment at Kribi was protecting that seaport from
land attack.

Ships and armed
craft of the Allied Navies had visited the
whole of the Cameroons sea board and had established
bases for small craft to patrol the rivers where
navigable.

By this time
approximately 1,000 male Europeans, only 32 of whom
were incapable of bearing arms, had been deported for
internment in Europe.

Towards the end of
1914 the French, under General Aymerich, and Belgian
troops based on French Equatorial Africa, commenced to
make their presence felt in the South and South-East,
but my force was separated from them by a distance of
approximately 400 miles.

In the North an
Allied force was fully occupied in observing Mora and
Garua.

At and near
Ossidinge a small British force from Nigeria and
German forces were in contact.

Notwithstanding
the number of troops, British, French and Belgian, in
the country it was impossible at this period to
co-ordinate their movements, owing to the vastness of
the area over which they were scattered and the
impossibility of establishing any means of
intercommunication between the various Commanders.
Furthermore, it was difficult for me to pursue a very
active policy, as it was necessary to maintain
comparatively strong garrisons in the places already
occupied. Posts on our lines of communication were
also absorbing troops from my somewhat depleted force,
amongst which sickness was beginning to play its part.

7. It was on the
5th January that the German Commander endeavoured to
deliver a serious blow to the French force commanded
by Colonel Mayer. Two practically simultaneous attacks
were made against his force; the first at Kopongo, on
the railway, the second at Edea. I had obtained some
knowledge of the German Commander's intention, and the
post at Kopongo had been slightly augmented, with the
happy result that the attack on this point was easily
repulsed, but not until the railway and telegraph
lines had both been cut and all communication with
Edea severed. The troops at Edea had, however, to bear
the brunt of a more serious movement. The locality of
Edea is by no means easy to defend owing to the
proximity of the forest, the scattered nature of the
buildings, and inequality of the ground; but so
skilfully were the defences devised, and so good was
the French marksmanship, that at the termination of
the combat the Germans left on the field 23 Europeans
dead and 190 native soldiers killed and wounded. The
French loss consisted of 1 European serjeant and 3
tirailleurs killed and 11 tirailleurs wounded. A
machine gun, number of rifles, ammunition and
equipment fell into the French hands. It is
significant that this was the first and last occasion
on which the Germans attempted an operation of this
nature on a comparatively large scale.

Towards the end of
January, Lieut.-Colonel (now Brigadier-General)
Cunliffe arrived at Duala on a mission from Lagos, and
as a result of a conference it was agreed that a more
active prosecution of the campaign in the Northern
Cameroons should be undertaken. I detached Major (now
Lieut.-Colonel) W. D. Wright, V.C., a most able
officer, from the Staff of the British Contingent
under my command and placed his services at the
disposal of the Officer Commanding the Allied Forces
at Garua. I also arranged with Captain Fuller,R.N., for the despatch of a naval field gun to
Yola, via the Niger and Benue Rivers, for
eventual use against the forts at Garua.

The early days of
February were marked by great hostile activity in the
neighbourhood of Northern railhead. Lieut.-Colonel
Cockburn, commanding a battalion of the Nigeria
Regiment, had a serious encounter with the enemy at
Mbureku on the morning of the 3rd February resulting
in the capture of the hostile camp, a large quantity
of small-arm ammunition, and equipment. We were,
however, unable to reap the full advantage of our
success as Lieut.-Colonel Cockburn was obliged to
transfer his force to the neighbourhood of Harmann's
Farm, where the Sierra Leone Battalion was engaged
with the enemy. During these two incidents we lost
nearly 120 native soldiers killed, wounded or missing;
but, after we had consolidated our position at Bare,
the enemy did not follow up the slight advantage he
had gained.

Constant activity
during February had failed to gain for us any material
advantage to the north of the railway, and there were
a series of small incidents which culminated in the
second attack by our troops on the points known as
Stoebel's and Harmann's Farms on 4th March. I regret
that this attack was not successful and we lost some
valuable lives, including Major (Lieut.-Colonel) G. P.
Newstead, commanding the Sierra Leone Battalion, and
Captain C. H. Dinnen, Staff Captain, an officer of
great promise. The enemy must, however, have suffered
in a similar degree, as it was later found that he had
evacuated his defensive position and retired further
north.

During February I
received valuable reinforcements from French and
British West African Colonies, and I was enabled to
reconstitute my force and place a more homogeneous
unit at the disposal of Lieut.-Colonel R. A. de B.
Rose, commanding the Gold Coast Regiment.

8. On the 12th
March a mission from French Equatorial Africa, at the
head of which was Monsieur Fourneau,
Lieutenant-Gouverneur du Moyen Congo, reached Duala.
Its object was to invite my co-operation in an
immediate advance, in conjunction with the troops
under General Aymerich from south-east and east,
against Jaunde. Since the occupation of Duala, Jaunde
had been transformed into the temporary seat of the
Colonial Administration. I fully realised the
political and strategic importance of Jaunde, but
demurred embarking on such an operation at that
moment. It was late in the season and the rains were
already beginning, besides which the troops I was able
to employ were insufficient to ensure success in the
absence of effective cooperation, in the immediate
vicinity of Jaunde, by the troops under General
Aymerich. Owing to the difficulty of communication it
was quite unsafe to count on this. However, in view of
the great advantage which would follow an early
occupation of Jaunde, I consented to cooperate with
all my available strength, and the 20th April was
fixed as the date on which an advance should be made
from the line Ngwe-So Dibanga, on the Kele River. I
consequently entrained a British force, commanded by
Lieut.-Colonel Haywood, on 7th April, which was to
commence a methodical advance in co-operation with the
French troops under Colonel Mayer. The forcing of the
line of the Kele River and the position at Ngwe, both
of which places were obstinately defended, occasioned
my troops some losses. I further found it necessary to
despatch a force to Sakbajeme to deny the crossing of
the Sanaga River at that place to the enemy. It soon
became evident that the enemy was withdrawing troops
from other and more distant parts of the Colony to
resist our further advance.

At midnight
23rd/24th April the blockade of the Cameroons was
declared, and every artifice was used to deceive the
enemy, and incessant and unremitting activity was
maintained by the Royal Navy on the coast
line, so as to induce the enemy to believe that
disembarkation would be made at a point from which a
force could be marched on Jaunde. Campo had been
occupied by a Naval detachment, and boat
patrol of the river as far as Dipikar was maintained.

The advance from
the line already mentioned was subsequently postponed
till 1st May, on which date the French and British
columns moved .forward to make good Eseka and Wum
Biagas respectively.

The French advance
on Eseka was conducted with some difficulty, as broken
bridges denied them the use of the railway line for
supply trains. Commandant Mechet, who conducted the
advance, successfully overcame all difficulties and,
after being seriously opposed at Sende, reached Eseka
on 11th May.

Turning to the
British advance, on 1st May Lieut.-Colonel Haywood
recommenced his march eastwards from Ngwe, and driving
in the hostile outposts at Ndupe, on the 3rd May his
force was facing the formidable position which the
enemy had established on the left bank of the Mbila
River at Wum Biagas. We captured the position on 4th
May, but not without serious losses in European
officers. A warm tribute is due to the bravery and
steadiness displayed by our Native troops, and to the
pluck and endurance of the European ranks in face of
such stubborn resistance.

As previously
arranged, the French force at Eseka now moved north
and joined the British at Wum Biagas, and Colonel
Mayer left Edea to assume command of the Allied
expedition. Stores and supplies were pushed forward by
road, and a naval 12-pounder gun was
despatched to reinforce our artillery.

Owing to the heavy
casualties which had occurred in the ranks of the two
battalions of the Nigeria Regiment and the inability
of Nigeria, owing to the many calls made by General
Cunliffes troops, to supply me with trained soldiers,
I decided towards the end of May to establish a
training depot at Duala. The recruits were enlisted in
Nigeria, and transferred to Duala for training. This
proved a great success, and by its means 536 soldiers
were trained and passed into the ranks.

9. ..... (land
campaign continues)

13. ..... To the
officers, petty and non-commissioned officers and men
of the Allied Navies, the Royal Marine
Light Infantry and Nigerian Marine, I
desire to express my admiration of their unremitting
and incessant toil. I am not overstating the fact when
I say that without their assistance by sea, creek and
land, the military forces of the Allies could not have
accomplished the task which lay before them. Where so
many have done such admirable work it is difficult for
me to make an impartial selection, but I desire
specially to bring to Your Lordship's notice the
valuable services rendered by Capitaine de Vaisseau
Carré, who has been Senior Naval Officer during the
last eight and a-half months of the operations. He has
had no light task in handling the many questions
connected with the naval side of the campaign; also
the name of Captain Cyril T. M. Fuller, C.M.G., R.N.,
an officer who combines in one personality
administrative ability and qualities of leadership of
a high order.

.....
As regards my Staff, I am desirous of bringing to
special notice the names of Major (temp.
Lieut.-Colonel) J, Brough, C.M.G., M.V.O., Royal
Marine Artillery, (continues
with Army list)

(concludes)

I
have the honour to be, Your Lordship's most obedient
Servant,

C.
M. DOBELL, Major-General, Commanding the Allied
Forces.

________

(Subsidiary
Report on military operations in Northern
Cameroons)

(excerpt
only)

The
Right Honourable A. Bonar Law, M.P., P.C.,

Secretary
of State for the Colonies, Etc., etc., etc.

Headquarters
Nigeria Regiment, Lagos, 16th March, 1916.

YOUR EXCELLENCY:

With
the occupation of Jaunde on the 1st January, 1916, by
the troops under the command of Major-General C. M.
Dobell, C.M.G., D.S.O., the task assigned to the
Allied Forces in the Northern Cameroons, which it has
been my privilege to command since the 5th February,
1915, was practically completed.

That
task was, briefly, to clear the enemy from that
portion of the German Cameroons which lies between
Lake Chad to the north and the Nachtigal Rapids on the
Sanaga River to the south, while the Allied Force
under Major-General Dobell and the French forces under
General Aymerich were converging on Jaunde from the
west and east respectively.

When
Jaunde fell to General Dobell the only point north of
the Sanaga River which still remained in German hands
was the mountain of Mora, and the garrison of that
place surrendered on the 18th February.

2.
I have now the honour to report as follows upon the
operations of the various forces under my command:

.....

16.
My information with regard to Garua was that the place
was very strongly fortified, and that the German
Artillery there could outrange any guns which either
Lieutenant-Colonel Brisset or Lieutenant-Colonel Webb-
Bowen, possessed at the time. Before leaving Duala,
therefore, I had made arrangements by which one of H.M.S.
"Challenger's" 12pr. guns, with 500 rounds of
ammunition, should be placed at my disposal, while the
French authorities had similarly directed that a 95mm.
gun should be sent to Lieutenant-Colonel Brisset.

17.
The naval gun left Duala on the 2nd February
under the command of Lieutenant-Commander L. H. K.
Hamilton, R.N., and reached Yola on the 12th March. As
the last part of the journey up the River Benue, owing
to the dry season, had to be made in canoes, its
progress was necessarily somewhat slow.

List
of Officers, Non-commissioned Officers and men
mentioned for distinguished and meritorious service.

(included
in Army list)

Waters,
Lieutenant B. E. M., R.N., Nigeria Political
Service.

ROYAL NAVY CASUALTIES - Killed and Died

With
thanks to Don Kindell

Not all casualties directly linked to
the Cameroons Campaign have been identified. However,
other naval casualties, such as the Nigerian Marine,
which are believed to have been suffered during the
Campaign are included.

1914

Friday,
11September 1914

HMS Dwarf (Photo
Ships)

Dwarf,
gunboat, damaged in action

COOMBER,
Frederick H, Petty Officer, 19441 (Ch), DOW
in Duala

Wednesday,
21October 1914

HMS
Cumberland (Photo Ships)

Cumberland,
armoured cruiser

CHILD,
Herbert A, Lieutenant, drowned

GRAY,
George S B, Commander, RNR,
drowned

Monday,
26October 1914

HMS
Challenger (Photo Ships)

Challenger,
old light cruiser

BIRD,
William, Able Seaman, 207358, illness

Monday,
2November 1914

Challenger

COURTIS,
Arthur, Seaman, RNR,
2875 C, illness in Cameroons

Friday,
6November 1914

Dwarf

GREEN,
Benjamin, Stoker 1c, K 1021, died in
Cameroons

Monday,
9November 1914

Challenger
(on books of Cumberland)

MORGAN,
George, Able Seaman, 226369 (Dev), drowned

Thursday,
24December 1914

Challenger

CORLETT,
Philip J, Engine Room Artificer, RNR,
240 EB, drowned

Saturday,
26December 1914

Dwarf

JOE,
(locally enlisted, not known if first name or surname),
Officer's Steward 2c, MMR,
(no service number listed), died in India

1915

Tuesday,
2March 1915

Challenger

BOYLE,
Thomas W, Private, RMLI, 15947 (Ply), illness

Monday,
8March 1915

Challenger,

LEWIS,
Albert E, Act/Gunner, died in
Cameroons

Sunday,
14March 1915

Challenger

HOLMES,
Francis J, Chief Petty Officer, 132549, died in Cameroons

Wednesday,
15September 1915

Lagos

,
miscellaneous vessel, Cameroons area

ELLIOTT, Robert, Sub Lieutenant, RNR,
died in Cameroons

ROYAL NAVY HONOURS and GALLANTRY AWARDS

With
thanks to the London Gazette

Many
of the honours and gallantry awards listed in the London
Gazette, do not identify ships or battles/campaigns.
Therefore the following listings are probably incomplete

Gazette No.
29024 - 29 DECEMBER 1914

The KING (is) pleased to give directions for the following
promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Distinguished
Order of Saint Michael and Saint George:

To be Additional Members of the Third Class or Companions of
the said Most Distinguished Order, for services in
connection with military operations:

The KING (is) pleased to give orders for the appointment of
the undermentioned Officer to be a Companion of the Distinguished
Service Order:

Lieutenant Louis Henry Keppel Hamilton, Royal Navy. For his
services in the operations in the Cameroons.
Lieutenant Hamilton was in charge of a river flotilla
which drove the Germans out of Dehane at the end of
December, 1914. He was later in command of the
detachment which transported a naval gun 160 miles up
the lower reaches of the Niger river, thence 480 miles
up the Benue river and 60 miles by land, and thus
contributed in large measure to the success of the
operations which culminated in the surrender of Garua on
the 10th June, 1915.

29423 - 31 DECEMBER 1915

The KING (is) pleased to give orders for the appointment of
the undermentioned Officers to be Companions of the Distinguished
Service Order:

Commander Ralph Stuart Sneyd, R.N. For his services
during operations in the Cameroons. Commander
Sneyd has commanded several successful operations on the
coast and up the rivers, notably on the Dibamba River on
the 10th September, 1914, when he engaged and sank a
large enemy launch, drove the enemy out of their post at
Piti, and captured important defence plans.

Commander Robert Herbert Wilfrid Hughes, R.D., R.N.R.
For his services during operations in theCameroons.
At the beginning of the campaign Commander Hughes
superintended the work of clearing a way through the
wreck barrage and piloting H.M.S. "Challenger"
to within bombarding distance of Duala, and he has
subsequently, at considerable risk and frequently under
fire, carried out survey work on the Sanaga, Njong and
Campo Rivers, and continuously harassed the enemy's
coast outposts.

___

The KING has further been graciously pleased to give
orders' for the award of the Distinguished Service
Cross to the undermentioned Officers:

Lieutenant Ralph Daniel Blyth Haddon, R.N. For his
services during operations in the Cameroons. Lieutenant
Haddon behaved with great gallantry when in command of H.M.S.
"Cumberland's" picket-boat during the attacks on
Jabassi on the 8th and 14th October, 1914, when he was
frequently under fire of the enemy's maxims at close
range. On the 27th November, 1914, during a
reconnaissance with two motor-launches near Jabassi, the
native crews left their posts on coming under a heavy
fire, whereupon Lieutenant Haddon, with Midshipman H.
Beckett Anderson, R.N., and Richard R. Beauchamp, R.N.,
continued to manoeuvre the launches and engage the enemy
with maxims for fifty minutes, finally silencing them.

Midshipman Hugh Beckett Anderson, R.N. For his
services during operations in the Cameroons. On
the 9th December, 1914, during a reconnaissance in a
motor launch towards Jabassi Midshipman Anderson's maxim
jambed (sic) while he was returning the fire of
the enemy, who were engaging him from both banks. Mr.
Anderson not only handled his boat well, but personally
cleared his maxim under a continuous heavy fire, and
then swept both banks with it, the enemy suffering
heavily.

___

The following awards have also been approved:

To Receive the Distinguished Service Medal (NOTE:only some of these awards are for service in
the Cameroons, but it is not known which)

Captain
Cyril Thomas Moulden Fuller, C.M.G., R.N. In recognition
of the ability and success with which he organised the
Naval operations in the Cameroons, where he was
Senior Naval Officer throughout the campaign.

29736 - 5 SEPTEMBER
1916

To
receive the Distinguished Service Medal.

Nigerian Marine (Natives).

(believed Cameroons Campaign)

Isaac,
Deckhand.

Yesufu,
Boatswain.

Sam
Druder, Boatswain.

William
M'Beh, Quartermaster.

___

The
following have been mentioned in despatches for
good services in action:

Nigerian Marine (West Indian).

(believed Cameroons Campaign)

Joshua
Cockburn, Master of the Flotilla Storeship "Trojan."

Nigerian Marine (Natives).

(believed Cameroons Campaign)

Isaiah
Briggs, Quartermaster.

Pom
Pom, Deckhand.

Micassa
Dumba (locally entered).

Ndgea
Noah (locally entered).

29886 -
29 DECEMBER 1916

To
be Companions of the Distinguished Service Order.

Cdr.
Frederick Edward Ketelbey Strong, R.N. For the
successful manner in which he conducted H.M.S. "Dwarf's"
actions, with the armed yacht "Herzogin Elisabeth," Joss
Battery, and the armed vessel "Nachtigal," on the 9th,
11th and 16th September, 1914, respectively, as well as
other important duties, which on several occasions
brought him into contact with the enemy during the Cameroons
Campaign.

Cdr.
Herbert Charles Valentine Beresford Cheetham, R.D.,
R.N.R. As Chief Transport Officer with the Cameroons
Expeditionary Force, Cdr. Cheetham performed exceptional
service under a heavy fire during the attacks on Jabassi
on the 8th October, 1914, and in the subsequent
embarkation of troops and retirement down stream of the
flotilla after dark. He commanded the advanced
detachments of the Nyong flotilla on the Edea
expedition, driving out a hostile party from Dehane, and
thereby enabling the French troops to land without
opposition.

Lieut.-Cdr. John Percival, R.N.R. Lieut.-Cdr. Percival was Acting
Director of Nigeria Marine at the commencement of
hostilities in the Cameroons, and was largely
responsible, for the efficient manner in which the
Nigeria Marine vessels were fitted out for duty with the
expedition. He also performed valuable service as King's
Harbour Master at Duala from the 28th September to the
14th December, 1914, when he was appointed Director of
Nigeria Marine at Lagos, in which position he invariably
assisted the Senior Naval officer in every way possible
throughout the campaign.